Browsing Posts published in January, 2013

— Our thanks to Animal Blawg for permission to republish this post, which first appeared on their site on January 9, 2013.

For years debates have been raging across the country on how to best manage populations of white-tailed deer. Many argue that most management tools are costly and that a cull is the easiest, and the cheapest, management solution.

Deer in park--courtesy Animal Blawg

However, many animal welfare advocates believe that immunocontraception is the proper management tool—one that has been used in test locations throughout the country with success.

Immunocontraception is a birth control method, which when used can prevent pregnancy in white-tailed deer and therefore serve as a solution to overpopulation issues. It has been used, with success, to reduce deer populations in locations throughout the country including Fire Island National Seashore, N.Y., and Fripp Island, S.C. The problem is that immunocontraception remains controversial. Those who oppose the use of contraceptives in wildlife populations argue that it is more expensive, and less effective, than the use of a traditional cull. Both of these arguments have been refuted with evidence from past immunocontraception test sites, but the battle still wages—and the National Park Service is very heavily involved.

On October 25, 2012, a lawsuit was filed, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to prevent the National Park Service from proceeding with a lethal cull of white-tailed deer in Rock Creek Park. continue reading…

Actual tuna is getting to be an ever-scarcer commodity, after all, and if the law of supply and the law of demand in economics are laws at all, the price of the fish is very likely to rise dramatically.

It probably doesn’t help, as NPR reports, that there are people willing to pay hefty prices already. The owner of a Japanese sushi chain, Kiyoshi Kimura, recently paid the equivalent of $1.76 million at auction for a single tuna in Tokyo’s Tsukiji fish market. Writes Allison Aubrey of the NPR blog, “this extravagant sale—and the publicity around it—may be just one more way to push demand for this fish, at a time when the species is vulnerable due to overfishing.”

If you’re keeping track, by the way, the auction price of the fish adds up to about $1,200 for a sandwich—and that doesn’t even take into account the cost of the bread, tomato, and mayonnaise.continue reading…

Empathy Research at University of Chicago

by Brooke E. O’Neill

— Editor’s introduction: At Advocacy for Animals we are fascinated by accounts of remarkable and eye-opening animal behavior. One such account that has recently drawn our interest is an experiment at the University of Chicago that demonstrated empathy and social behavior among rats. Although opinions on the use of animals in laboratory research differ, and our readers might find it distressing to read about the confinement of rats, we welcome an opportunity to present some surprising and thought-provoking new information on rats’ emotional capacities.

— Words such as “rat” and “ratfink” are sometimes used to describe a generally untrustworthy individual who “betrays or deserts friends or associates.” These laboratory rats, on the contrary, made extraordinary and repeated attempts to assist their fellow rats in distress. Word of these experiments first appeared in the press back in December 2011, but when we noticed a recent article about the experiments in the November–December 2012 issue of The University of Chicago Magazine, we wanted to make sure our readers were aware of them, too.

— Many thanks to The University of Chicago Magazine and to author Brooke O’Neill for granting us permission to republish the article here.

Circling a strange contraption, the rat gnaws at its edges, pressing his paws against the clear Plexiglass walls. Inside the tube-shaped restrainer, trapped, is the rat he’s shared a cage with for two weeks.

The prisoner can barely do a 360-degree turn in his tight quarters and tiny squeaks betray his distress. Meanwhile, the free rat circles and circles, scraping his teeth against the restrainer, poking whiskers through its small openings.

For the past five days, it’s been the same routine for these cagemates: one free, one captive, both stressed. But today is different. After hours of trial and error of circling, biting, and digging into the restrainer, the free rat pushes its door with his head—and just the right amount of force. Suddenly, the plastic front falls away, as the researchers watching have designed it to do.

Both rats freeze, stunned. As the newly freed rat scurries out, the liberator follows in quick pursuit, jumping on him and licking him. It’s an unusual burst of energy that suggests he’s done what he meant to do: release his cagemate.

“It looks like celebration,” says University of Chicago neuroscientist Peggy Mason, who has observed the same interaction with dozens of rat pairs. continue reading…

by Fran Ortiz, Director of the Animal Law Clinic, and Professor of Law at South Texas College of Law, Houston, Texas

Our thanks to Fran Ortiz and the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) for permission to republish this post, which previously appeared on the ALDF Blog on January 14th, 2013.

Those who live with animal companions know their incredible worth. For most, the need to translate that worth to a monetary value never arises.

The Medlens with their dog, Avery--courtesy ALDF

In instances of the wrongful death of a companion, however, the owner is asked by a court to do just that. Because animals are considered personal property under the law, calculating an animal’s value for purposes of a damages award is based on the same calculation used for other types of personal property, such as cars, clothes, or furniture. The calculation varies from state to state. Last week, in the case Strickland v. Medlen, the Texas Supreme Court was asked to look at its own valuation and determine whether the sentiment that an owner feels for his or her dog can be taken into account when calculating damages for the loss of that dog.

Many states do not allow consideration of an owner’s feelings to be taken into account when determining damages. Instead, damages are based on how much the animal could be sold for or the value of the services that the animal provides to the owner. Texas also follows these basic rules. However, Texas also allows an owner to recover sentimental value in circumstances where the greatest value of the property lies in sentiment, such as the case with heirlooms or family photos. The basic question before the Court, then, was whether an owner’s sentiment for his or her dog is a relevant consideration in determining the dog’s property value. continue reading…

Each week the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS) sends out an e-mail alert called “Take Action Thursday,” which tells subscribers about current actions they can take to help animals. NAVS is a national, not-for-profit educational organization incorporated in the State of Illinois. NAVS promotes greater compassion, respect, and justice for animals through educational programs based on respected ethical and scientific theory and supported by extensive documentation of the cruelty and waste of vivisection. You can register to receive these action alerts and more at the NAVS Web site.

In this week’s Take Action Thursday we celebrate the passage of Ohio’s puppy mill law, present new legislation in other states to better regulate abusive puppy mills, and report on challenges for whale populations in U.S. waters and in Britain.continue reading…

"Service Animal" Scammers (New Yorker): An increasing number of your neighbors have been keeping company with their pets in human-only establishments simply by claiming that the creatures are their licensed companion animals and are necessary to their mental well-being.